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Lallowens
Physical appearance When first discovered the Lallow were actually thought to be two organisms (well two species) a large creature capable or mimicking nearby species to the point no one know what one actually looks like without the influence of other species and a flock (or in some cases a small swarm) of small flying creatures. However the small creatures are in fact little more than external organs or satellite organisms for the main body. They vary in appearance based on function some having eyes or other sensory organs some having mouth parts and a rare few with genitals. However they all have a main body with whatever organ they happen to be using at the front, a series of gas sacks lining their bodies, a ring of fan or fin like wings used to propel themselves through the air and finally tails (one to three usually) which are long and tapered ending in a hook which can be used to anchor themselves to whatever they need anchoring to at the moment. As said before the main bodies are capable of mimicking the appearance of other species so there are Lallow that look like pretty much every species sentient or not. There are of course common features for example the horns which really are quite impressive; they appear to be very smooth almost looking like fine china only not nearly as fragile. The horns don't actually have points they are in fact hollow with round holes at the end. The other feature is their tails which are about as long as whatever creature their mimicking's backs and lined with small veiny lime sacks and at certain times a poisonous thagomizer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thagomizer) . Their colouration ranges greatly but most are yellows oranges or reds, with black lines forming simple patterns. Their teeth (when they have teeth) are also similar being many and needle like. They sometime produce needle like poisonous spines (which are pretty much the same of their teeth) in small patches on their body when nervous or aggressive. Finally the Lallow tend to be slightly bigger than their mimic species about 5-15 % normally. Movement-While they move in the same way as the species they are mimicking they are often slightly slower or at least not capable of moving very fast for long. Physiology-''' There are several things that make the Lallow unique one being their uncanny ability to mimic other species, the process happens up to twice the first time is pretty much subconscious and happens from birth to puberty gradually but not to the point it isn't noticeable. How they accomplish this still isn't fully understood, they seem to be sensitive brain activity and other signals of emotional reposes like pheromones even appearing to be able to read DNA to find out what people are genetically predisposed to find attractive. The second time it happens is over puberty where the Lallow begins becomes an adult member of its adoptive species this can go against the mutation that occurs in early childhood but once it happens the lallowens are no longer able to mutate but they gain the ability to mate with their adoptive species. The second thing that makes them interesting is their ability to produce satellite organisms. These are genetically the same organism; these are produced in the sacks lining the tail. They creatures are pretty strange even for the lallow. When created they are assigned roles based on what the Lallow need, they can function as mouths to gather food remotely from and even digest and excrete it before being reabsorbed back into the lallow through their skin. They can even be used as scouts by growing sensory organs and gathering information. It is important to point out the Lallow are not telepathically attached to their sensory satellites any satellite sent out must be given a piece of the Lallow's mind if it is to function externally which can only be returned (along with any information the scouts gathered) with the living return of the satellite in the same way as feeders are brought back. One important side effect of having many satellites takes a lot of mental energy so the Lallow become progressively less intelligent the more scouts they have at least until the scouts are returned. The satellites can live for up to a few months away from their body before dying. Their final trick is a sort of hibernation; they are capable of slowing their internal chemistry and living entirely by their satellites. During this time they develop a hardened skin leading them to become almost statue like and more resilient. '''Reproduction + Gender + life expectancy The strange thing about the Lallow is that reproductively they are both the species they are mimicking and lallow; this means a human lallow could reproduce with another human or any lallow. The stranger still thing is that the mimic genitals are only for show they still need to use satellites as intermediaries if they actually want to reproduce regardless of who with. To use humans as an example a human Lallow could also produce either male or female satellites the male ones being used before reabsorbed and the female being used before flying back into the lallow and impregnating her. The children of any of these unions will be born lallow human but just as able as any other lallow to mimic any species so a lallow could be born one species and become a completely different one by adulthood. They can live for about 80% as long as their adopted species but each year spent hibernating is only about a tenth as aging. They sexually mature around 25-30 which is only species known to mature later than the crelm. Senses- The Lallowens have all the senses the species they are mimicking do as well as one or two others. They are completely biologically self-aware while not constantly looking so to speak they can feel all the biological process being carried out in their bodies. They still can't exert enough control to override the automatic processes but they can break them down to about a cell degree of accuracy. This also allows them to almost read DNA of themselves of others and help learn about their adoptive species. The 5 venoms ' There are a total of 22 different types of venom that the lallowens can produce; they are widely sorted into 5 categories. The categories are. '''Stegos '- are the most common type of lallowens venoms. They are produced pretty much constantly and make up almost half of the total venom production. They slow down the victim's metabolism making them sluggish and causing them to cool down. They have a strong sent which the flyers are drawn to allowing them to be tracked down. '''Ankylies -Produced mainly in lallowens that are currently male, these venoms are used to counteract sex hormones in potential competition. It both acts to reduce production of sex hormones but also cut off the sex drive and reduces natural aggression (for this reason it's also useful for social domination as it reduces the chance they'll fight back). Ceras - Often referred to as the opposite of the toxins above these are mostly found in currently female lallowens. It's a chemical involved in bonding so also shows a spike after hatching when bonding to new parents is most important. It know to make people both more trusting (hence it's occasional use in truth serum) and it's found its uses as an aphrodisiac/ perfume. Chaeops - Found mostly in parents to be or in the sick and injured. These types of venoms are designed to prevent the lallow getting noticed. They work by preventing certain links in the brain, for example a predator under the effects will still see the eggs but if less likely to associate them with food. Popular among cheaters in quizzes, prolonged exposures has resulted in symptoms similar to dementia. Lodics- These aren't always classified as venoms as really they aren't offensive. They are more a growth hormone used to help produce the cells that give lallowens their biological self-awareness. Normally it establishes similar cells in the target allowing the lallowens to gain information when the cells are reabsorbed. However some drugs are in development to help the victim use the cells themselves gaining some of the Lallowens senses for a short time. They seem to be able to monitor brain activity almost like an EMI machine leading to rumours of their psychic powers and their ability to mind read which are at least most probably far-fetched. Habitat/ homeworld-the lallow don't really have a home world or at least they show up pretty much everywhere there's life to minic. They do seem naturally predisposed to colder climates Diet-The lallowens will eat whatever he diet of the creature they are mimicking is. Culture- The lallowens are pretty solitary creatures among their own kind as they are can be highly competitive and aggressive when dealing with their own kind. A species that evolves the ability to have sex with each other from different continents probably isn't the most social so they do their best to avoid each other where ever possible. Meeting have been known to end in fights to the death on several occasions. Among their adopted communities it's completely different, since the lallowens have essentially become some the most beautiful examples of their adoptive species. Even people who are normally xenophobic to the extreme find it hard not to focus on how human they look. It's not just sexy they've evolved to become, there's something almost childlike about them, trying to attack they can force you head first into some of the most primal mental barriers. Of course when you've evolved to exploit this sort of thing you're going to get a bit of a complex. They often come across as superior and vain or obsessed with their look. Their natural empathy and charisma has led to many perusing carers in media or politics. Their numbers are small and their natural aggression to other lallowens makes them appear even rarer so having more than one in a community is pretty strange, that said they have embedded in pretty much every civilisation and are even often considered an S.U species despite this not really making sense on any more than an individual level.